Staff Member

CES 2009: For those who’re always moaning that every modern case designs are always just another turn on the familiar black/silver box, Lian Li is here to shake things up with its newly announced PC-888 case, set to début at CES this week.

Inspired by the design of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, it looks set to continue Lian Li’s tradition of occasionally producing off the wall cases unlike anything else on the market. We think you’ll agree that there’s nothing else on the market that looks anything like it.

Some of you may remember Lian Li’s “Snail” case, the PC-777, and the PC-888 is in very much the same vein, chucking traditional case aesthetics in the bin with a unique chassis design that’s pitched firmly at those looking for something a little bit special to house their beloved system in.

However, it’s not just a pretty face, with room for a full ATX motherboard, four hot-swap hard disk drive bays, three 120mm speed controlled cooling fans and pre-stealthed drive bays. In fact the insides are deceptively compact for what is, externally , quite a large chassis.

But the most eye catching thing about the PC-888 must be that ocean blue anodized aluminium used in the construction. It looks absolutely gorgeous and is a great change from the usual sea of black, silver and gun metal grey we would normally see chassis ship in, although we're sure the design itself will a bit like Marmite: you'll either love it or hate it.

We’ll be bringing you a full review of the PC-888 next week, but for now we’ll leave you with a few tasty pics to drool/hiss over.

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the PC-B70 and PC-B71 full tower chassis. Both cases are made from aluminum sheet metal, and have plenty of room for large numbers of hard drives (HDD) while still incorporating the classic brushed aluminum style and functional design for ease of use and stunning good looks. The PC-B70 has a left side access HDD cage that can accept seven (7) full 3.5 inch hard disk drives. The Hard drives are secured by means of a removable HDD bracket with patented vibration reduction system. While the five Optical bays are an added bonus (the last ODD can be used as 3.5”disk reader). Both towers stand at 220 x 595 x 590mm (W,H,D). The PC-B71 is different via the lower part of the front bezel which has an integrated HDD Hot swappable SATA cage with a front facing securely lockable door. The HDD Cage is cooled via two (2) 140mm blue lit LED fans. The fans are filtered with removable, washable nylon filters. The easy access to the hot swap Raid HDD backplate via the front lockable door makes the PC-B71 convenient while still retaining the good looks found in every Lian Li chassis.

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Tool-less storage design
The PC-B71 HDD Cage houses 7x 3.5” hot swappable HDD bays supporting RAID arrays and for those who change HDD’s frequently, keeping your rig cool and well ventilated but also segmenting the various parts for optimal cooling and functionality. Anti-vibration couplings are integral to the structure and concept, with simple elegance and convenience foremost in the design. The PC-B70 HDD cages are also easy to use and tool-less. The HDD’s will fit snugly with secure brackets that are mounted conveniently and easily. They slide into the HDD cage and are clipped into place to prevent movement and vibration from spreading throughout the chassis while making the HDD’s easy to remove and swap out. Both chassis have easy to use tools-l ess CD-ROM claspers and tool-less PCI card retention systems.

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Noise reducing side panels
Both chassis are fitted with tool-less clips for easy installation and removal of the side panels. The side panels are covered with sound insulation foam and anti-vibration rubber strips on the edges sealing the connection between the side panel and case. Easy CPU heatsink installation and cable management. The motherboard tray is removable and has extra holes for additional ventilation, a large area opened up behind the CPU region facilitates easy removal and access of CPU heatsink backplates, as well as allowing convenient cable management. The PC-B70 & PC-B71 Chassis supports ATX and micro ATX form factor motherboards.

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Large Ball-Bearing fans for ventilation
Both models are fitted with two (2) 12cm Ball-Bearing [email protected] cooling the chassis from the rear, and two (2) 14cm fans in front. The PC-B70 & PC-B71 Tower receives more than adequate ventilation. Each fan is removable, and fan speed can be adjusted via the three speed Fan speed control device. The seven (7)- PCI slots have a grill structure to improve air through flow. The Power Supply can be positioned on top or at the bottom
In both cases the PSU bay can be either on top or at the bottom, with an adjustable bracket to secure extra long PSU’s in place. In addition, rubber strips give insulation as well as prevent annoying vibration. The top mounted multimedia ports include 4x USB 2.0 ports, 1x Firewire (IEEE1394), 1x E-SATA and HD + AC97 Audio ports.

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Easy to customize design
Both Chassis have water pipe access holes, should you wish to use them. The structure is very customizable, and almost any aspect can be modified, including the top cover, which removes very easily.

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Optional kits expanding features
For both cases optional kits add more features to the chassis. Available kits include additional SATA Hot Swap HDD racks, Fan speed control thermometers, PCI coolers, additional air intake fans, card readers and bezels for the CD/DVD bays.

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For more details on features and extras available for the PC-B70 please go here, for the PC-B71 please go here.